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26The Heart of What Matters: The Role for Literature in Moral PhilosophyUniversity of California Press. 2001.The Heart of What Matters shows that literature has a powerful and unique role to play in understanding life's deepest ethical problems. Anthony Cunningham provides a rigorous critique of Kantian ethics, which has enjoyed a preeminent place in moral philosophy in the United States, arguing that it does not do justice to the reality of our lives. He demonstrates how fine literature can play an important role in honing our capacity to see clearly and choose wisely as he develops a moral philosophy…Read more
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18Dignity and Vulnerability: Strength and Quality of Character (review)Philosophical and Phenomenological Research 61 (1): 239-241. 1997.
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11Prospection and emotional memory: how expectation affects emotional memory formation following sleep and wakeFrontiers in Psychology 5. 2014.
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Good citizens : gratitude and honorIn Laurie Johnson & Dan Demetriou (eds.), Honor in the Modern World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Lexington. 2016.
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14Ethics, Literature, and Theory: An Introductory Reader (edited book)Sheed & Ward. 2005.Do the rich descriptions and narrative shapings of literature provide a valuable resource for readers, writers, philosophers, and everyday people to imagine and confront the ultimate questions of life? Do the human activities of storytelling and complex moral decision-making have a deep connection? What are the moral responsibilities of the artist, critic, and reader? What can religious perspectives—from Catholic to Protestant to Mormon—contribute to literary criticism? Thirty well known contrib…Read more
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180Good Citizens: Gratitude and HonorIn Laurie Johnson & Dan Demetriou (eds.), Honor in the Modern World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Lexington. pp. 143-160. 2016.
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G. H. Smith, "Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies" (review)Journal of Value Inquiry 28 (4): 581. 1994.
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Deliberation, Ideals & Moral Community: Reflections on Some Connections Between the Good Life and the Moral Life for PersonsDissertation, University of Pennsylvania. 1987.In arriving at a conception of a worthwhile life to lead and character to embrace, human persons must do so within a social context. Our ends and projects not only require non-interference from others, but assistance by way of cooperation is essential. In this light, one may reasonably ask whether and how the moral life, fleshed out in terms of justice and benevolence, might be a significant part of human life. Might a moral life and good life bear some relations? ;Relations of "minimal communit…Read more
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74The moral importance of dirty handsJournal of Value Inquiry 26 (2): 239-250. 1992.This understanding of dirty hands should dispell the air of paradox so often associated with it. Dirty hands is a genuine moral problem, but not a conceptual one. The temptation to see it as a conceptual one arises from a hasty acceptance of these assumptions:Moral criticism is appropriate if and only if we can always do what is right. If we cannot do X or avoid doing Y, we cannot be criticized for failing to do X or for doing Y.We are always free to avoid moral compromise since goodness is a ma…Read more
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421Liberalism, Egalité, Fraternité?Journal of Philosophical Research 16 125-144. 1991.This essay attempts to assess recent communitarian charges that liberalism cannot provide for genuine bonds of community or fraternity. Along with providing an analysis of fraternity, I argue that there is more common ground here than supposed by communitarians and l iberals alike. Communitarians often fail to see that liberal concerns for liberty and equality function as substantive constraints on the moral worth of fraternal bonds. On the other hand, insofar as liberals ignore fraternity, or s…Read more
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19Dignity and Vulnerability, Strength and Quality of Character (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 61 (1): 239-241. 2000.The issue of human vulnerability has loomed in the background of numerous philosophical discussions of character and responsibility in recent years. The revival of interest in Aristotle and the virtues renewed interest in Greek tragedy in philosophical circles, and resulting speculations about the fragility of life and character have inevitably chafed against Kantian aspirations to protect us against “moral luck.” Most recently, the resurgence of interest in Stoicism manifests a concern with the…Read more
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393ModestyThe Dalhousie Review 81 (3). 2001.Modesty is sometimes understood in terms of ignorance and underestimation (one simply doesn't realize how good one really is), a keen awareness of one's relative imperfections (one can always be better), a preoccupation with moral equality (our humanity matters most), or a disinterest in any personal credit for one's attributes or accomplishments (only the work or the cause matters). I point to serious problems with each of these accounts of modesty and I suggest a different understanding of mo…Read more
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44The Heart of What Matters: The Role for Literature in Moral PhilosophyUniversity of California Press. 2001.The Heart of What Matters shows that literature has a powerful and unique role to play in understanding life's deepest ethical problems. Anthony Cunningham provides a rigorous critique of Kantian ethics, which has enjoyed a preeminent place in moral philosophy in the United States, arguing that it does not do justice to the reality of our lives. He demonstrates how fine literature can play an important role in honing our capacity to see clearly and choose wisely as he develops a moral philosophy…Read more
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1028Great AngerThe Dalhousie Review 85 (3). 2005.Anger has an undeniable hand in human suffering and horrific deeds. Various schools of thought call for eliminating or moderating the capacity for anger. I argue that the capacity for anger, like the capacity for grief, is at the heart of our humanity.
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225Moral AddictsDialogue 33 (2): 223-235. 1994.Any good ethical theory aspires to provide as comprehensive a guide to moral value and motivation as possible. Within modern moral philosophy, conceptions of moral value have been dominated largely by considerations of justice and concerns for the common good, and moral shortcomings have been accounted for primarily by appeal to ignorance, weakness, indifference or outright hostility to moral values. Yet the ways in which we fall short are far more complicated. By discussing one interesting exam…Read more
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39Kantian Ethics and Intimate AttachmentsAmerican Philosophical Quarterly 36 (4). 1999.This essay questions whether recent attempts to reconcile Kantian ethics and intimate attachments can be successful. Defenders have argued that Kantian commitments would leave enough room to pursue the sorts of intimate attachments that provide so much of the meaning and structures of most lives. However, close attention to the letter and spirit of Kant's ethics suggests that imperfect duties would demand far more of conscientious Kantians than defenders have acknowledged. The duties to prevent …Read more
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11Modern Honor: A Philosophical DefenseRoutledge. 2013.This book examines the notion of honor with an eye to dissecting its intellectual demise and with the aim of making a case for honor’s rehabilitation. Western intellectuals acknowledge honor’s influence, but they lament its authority. For Western democratic societies to embrace honor, it must be compatible with social ideals like liberty, equality, and fraternity. Cunningham details a conception of honor that can do justice to these ideals. This vision revolves around three elements—character , …Read more
Collegeville, Minnesota, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
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Moral Value |
Normative Ethics |
Meta-Ethics |
Practical Reason |
Meta-Ethics, Miscellaneous |
Social and Political Philosophy |